“PHONE-PHOBIA”

The Seed:

The Epiphany:

Your ultimate conclusion:

“Do what you love. Don’t do what you hate.”

The thought came to me that there have been many occasions when I wished I would have said something differently; not said anything at all; or shouted something from the top of my lungs (vs. holding back at the moment & later turning it inward).Maybe (for me), it is somehow connected to impulse control? Then comes in that whole ‘tendency to apologize’ between changes in train-of-thought or topic-of-conversation, when I am free-speaking. (It’s funny how I don’t even realize it if I drop a habitual “Sorry” when I’m talking, yet when I hear the word spoken by someone else, especially someone I don’t know very well, I often find myself judging them as weak & insecure. Hmmm…straw in my sister’s eye; rafter in mine?It has likewise been brought to my attention (often enough to be noteworthy) that, vocally, my responses can be abrupt and tinged with tones of irritation; that my words are easily interpreted as abrasive & rude. Eureka! Now I know what they mean: I sound like The Queen Bitch!I have discovered the hard way, through acting in administrative roles, that I struggle terribly—and generally fail—to communicate, in a clear & precise manner, what it is that I want or need. I’ve studied works like Dale Carnegie’s classic principles* from How to Win Friends & Influence People and Steven Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Plus some less known, but personal favorites like: Leading From the Front by Marie Captains Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch.I think writing is The Bomb because I get unlimited “do overs.” On the flip side, if writing is an art, the most difficult thing knowing when I am finished. Much like a painting, I can keep going back in & touching it up until I turn it into a murky muddy mess. Hence, destroying the original purity of Spirit from which it came.Human beings think at speeds of something like (average) 500 to (genius)1000 words per minute; speak (audiobook) 150 to (debate team champion) 500wpm; comprehend (listening or reading) 250-300wpm; and type (copy or dictation) 80-200 wpm.Yet, handwriting (from copied to memorized) comes to a grinding halt at 20-30wpm!

…and…

I just got back from a tangent on looking for a statistic about how fast a professional writer writes, or should write, or needs to be able to write. Considering the likes of Anne Rice & Michael Crichton vs. Susanna Clarke (who took ten years to write her first novel, an award winning & New York Times Bestseller), what I have concluded is:

“It depends.”

…but boy, oh boy, did I open a whole new Pandora’s Box on what I just learned is termed the writing process.

(Which I know you, Kathy, already know.)

My point?

When I write, I have to slow down my mind, I have to discern, learn, consider, and reconsider. I have found clarity on nearly every problem I’ve ever had, once I had decided to write about it. When I write, I have access to all the infinite possibilities in the universe; time falls away along with all the day-to-day trappings of this earthly realm.